Game:

Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994)

Duration: 1:37

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3

Warning: Really cheesy, low-effort run; read the description!

Map: The Absolution (d64d2.wad MAP30)
Category: UV-pacifist -solo-net (Ultraviolence pacifist, coop monsters/items)
Time: 1:28
Source port: Crispy Doom 5.6.2 (exported to video using PrBoom+ 2.5.1.5)

I've been playing around with Doom 64 for Doom II, which is Doom 64's levels reinterpreted as a vanilla Doom II wad. I found it notable how there seemed to be an unusual amount of attention given to coop thing placement, with every level having significantly more monsters to kill (often of higher tiers than what you'd find in single-player) and some duplicated items to accommodate multiple players. I'm considering recording some -solo-net (coop with only one player) UV-max demos of the levels to show what that's like, but I'm not sure yet if it'd be more tedious than interesting.

The final map has some issues, which is what I recorded this video to demonstrate. How this level normally goes is that when you enter the arena, you activate monster spawners and have to defend yourself against the monsters, and then after about a minute the walls in the center lower to reveal the Motherdemon, a strong boss monster that you have to kill to end the level. You can also disable the monster spawners by collecting the keys from optional challenges before entering the arena, and activating switches around the arena, which is a clever implementation of Doom 64's demon keys within Doom II's limitations (additionally, each of the optional challenges is themed after one of the secret levels where the demon keys are found).

The first problem you'll notice here is that if you run and hide after triggering the monster spawners, the monsters will remain idle and you can sit in place and let them telefrag each other. This can also be done on Doom II's final map, but there it won't help you actually finish the level. Here, you can use this to wait out the time before the mother demon is revealed. Additionally, the monster spawners are shut off a bit after the Motherdemon comes into play, so if you wait long enough you can avoid the spawned monsters entirely!

The other problem is exclusive to the co-op monster placement on Ultraviolence (and Nightmare!) difficulty. In this skill level, there are actually two Motherdemons, one in the normal place and another waiting in a monster closet. However, the second Motherdemon appears in the same location as the first, so it will more than likely telefrag the other! The level ends when you've killed either Motherdemon, so unless you're careful to lure the first Motherdemon away from its initial location (alerting it by sight, not by sound) before alerting the second, the level will end abruptly before any real boss fight. This is a problem if you want to get a -solo-net UV-max of this level, since the Motherdemons do count toward the kill percentage and you have to kill them within a few seconds of each other to get both before the level ends. I'm not sure it's possible in -solo-net to BFG the second Motherdemon to death quickly enough if it telefrags the first; I imagine it's possible in a coop game with the combined forces of four BFGs. Note: In ZDoom the telefrag doesn't occur because the Decorate definition of the Motherdemon includes +NOTELEFRAG to prevent it from being telefragged; however, the game still ends upon the death of either Motherdemon.

Taking advantage of both of these tricks thus allows me to thwart the demon invasion by punching the air while staring at a wall.

Maybe 1:27 is possible with better movement, but I don't particularly care to try...

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